that does it for us. rachel will be back tomorrow. i will see you next weekend, saturday and sunday on "up" at 8:00 a.m. eastern. we're going to have christine todd whitman, which i'm very excited about. now it's time for "the last clearance revoked -- secret service agents are stripped of their top secret credentials amid a widening prostitution scandal. buffett rule blocked. senate republicans derail the minimum tax plan for the nation's top earners. and solar stunner -- nasa captures a powerful eruption on the surface of the sun. good morning, everyone, i'm lynn berry, those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. and we're going to begin

with a public punishment. there is more fallout this morning from the secret service prostitution scandal in colombia. including details on which agents were involved in hiring those prostitutes. and new reaction from the pentagon. nbc's tracie potts has more. >> as we get more information, it appears there may have been almost as many members of the military involved as the secret service. top security clearance has been revoked for 11 secret service agents accused of hiring prostitutes, while preparing for president obama's visit to colombia last week. lawmakers are concerned about a security breach. >> anybody who has watched a spy movie knows you go in with the girls, you plant the bugs, you compromise the agent. what were these guys thinking? >> reporter: first reaction from the pentagon. >> we're embarrassed. we let the boss down. nobody is talking about what went on in colombia, other than this incident.

>> i can assure you that if that investigation determines that there has been a violation, that the individuals involved will be held accountable. >> reporter: sources indicate there were two secret service supervisors, three snipers and three agents designed to protect the president's motorcade. all had his minute-by-minute schedule. >> the prostitutes had access to that, they could have given it to a drug cartel or a terrorist group. >> reporter: we're learning not five, but perhaps ten members of the navy, army and marines may have been involved. several congressional committees may hold hearings to investigate. a pentagon spokesman said that those service members were not directly involved with presidential security. lynn? >> tracie potts in washington, thanks. the u.s. inspector general said criminal charges could be filed in the scandal involving the spending spree at the general services administration. at a hearing yesterday, the official testified about the

2010 las vegas conference that cost taxpayers more than $800,000. he has called for criminal charges and is still looking into possible bribery and kick-backs, lawmakers expressed outrage at taxpayer money being used for extravagant parties at the convention. as americans rush to beat today's income tax filing deadline, last night the senate blocked the so-called buffett rule, which would have increased taxes on millionaires. lawmakers voted 51-45 to keep the bill alive. president obama denounced the vote. republicans had called the measure a political employ. nbc's steve handelsman reports. >> reporter: democrats pushed a tax hike on millionaires. >> they can afford to shoulder their fair share of the burden to make this country prosper. >> reporter: but republicans charged it's not about fairness, it's a gimmick to get votes. >> it's shown the president is actually more interested in misleading people than he is in

leading. >> reporter: and republicans blocked senate consideration. polls show the plan backed by president obama and his billionaire buddy, warren buffett is popular with voters. the buffett rule. to tax families making $1 million a year at least 30%. $433,000 u.s. house-holds, it would raise just 47 billion in ten years. >> one week's interest on our $15 trillion national debt, that's it. >> but it makes the point that mitt romney is megarich. he was at a red sox game today. expecting to pay just 15% in taxes. on $21 million, in 2011 income. half the buffett rule rate. last weekend, romney was overheard by reporters revealing he wants to lower tax rates for the rich. so small businesses that pay those rates can hire more workers. romney said he would eliminate deductions so the rich would pay

about what they pay now. the buffett rule, falling short in the senate, was the democrats' plan. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. more reaction now to the senate vote against the buffett rule. vermont senator bernie sanders told ed why he thinks the defeat matters so much. >> here's what worries me very much. if we don't turn this around, we are going to lose the democratic foundations that have made this country the nation that it is and we are going to move very rapidly, which is where we're going right now, into an oligarchic form of society where a handful of people on the top control not only the economics of the nation, they control the politics as well. median family income has gone down precipitously in the last ten years. we've lost millions of good-paying jobs. you have the top 1%, now earning more income than the bottom 50%. you have millions and millions

of people today, ed, who are struggling to pay their mortgage or rent, to buy food, to put gas in the car. you know what, they are by the way, they are paying federal taxes in terms of fica taxes, you can't get blood out of a stone when the middle class is shrinking. >> don't miss "the ed show" on msnbc. the place for politics. well here's your first look at other news going on around america today. near houston, thieves broke into a church, but they were being watched from above by security cameras. one of the burglars could be seen trying to pull the plug on the cameras. that didn't go so well. their faces were still clearly visible. they did make off with a safe, but they left behind closing and a flashlight. also in texas, heavy flooding in corpus christi made for commuting nightmare, a number of roads had to be closed. several cars stalled in the middle of the streets.

small up tornadoes and power outages reported. and finally in boston, the red sox turned to a 100-year-old fan for a little help. he was invited to fenway park to celebrate something else that's hitting the century mark. the stadium itself. the man tossed out the first pitch and it went right over home plate. he's got quite the arm. it wasn't just luck, he had actually been training for the big moment at his retirement home and he had 18 great grandchildren on hand to watch it. now for look at your national weather, we turn to nbc meteorologist bill karins with your weather channel forecast. >> i think he may have had a better arm than you do. >> maybe lefty. >> you go underhand. don't you. >> slow-pitch softball and there's nothing wrong with it. >> drink breaks between innings. well good morning, everybody, we're looking at dry conditions continuing in the northeast. it's amazing, how fast it got.

last year, one of the wettest years ever in like connecticut. and now just like snap of the fingers, four months and very little rainfall. we're now in severe drought conditions and yesterday it was 92 in hartford, it didn't help things much. more brush fires popping up. no rain in sight for this region. i think it could change, especially as we go through sunday and monday, there's a chance for actually a coastal storm, maybe even a nor'easter. i don't want people to say nor'easter. it would be a rape event, we need the soaking rains, we don't need it over the weekend. new york city, four days, very dry, the same forecast for boston, providence, d.c. and philadelphia. all the wet weather is going to be down in the southeast. we got drenched yesterday. we saw the pictures from kospi. new orleans had a lot of heavy rain yesterday and this morning we have showers up through central mississippi. the only really heavy rain is now approaching homer, louisiana, and it may drift over towards new orleans. you can see the lightning

strikes down along the coast. as far as what we're going to deal with rainfall totals, nothing too heavy. maybe half-inch to an inch from atlanta to south carolina, it will be late today, into tomorrow as a little piece of energy will head through the southeast. in atlanta, the same forecast for you, you're the one that could deal with the storm friday into saturday. it could move up the coast. so even atlanta, i know georgia is very, very dry. you could use the wet weather there, too. today's forecast, middle of the country looks gorgeous as the clean-up continues from the past weekend's tornado outbreak. chicago looks nice, denver and there's the showers in the southeast, lynn. maybe we need a soaking. and if everyone has sunday plans in new england, it may be ruined. >> bill, good heads up, thanks so much. coming up, apple loses its shine. the world bank gets a new boss, and forget college, why you're going to need a savings account just to send your teenager to the prom. your "first look" at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. coming up, the rangers pitch

a shut-out, triple overtime in utah and did the wizards really beat the bulls? you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ male announcer ] this is lawn ranger -- eden prairie, minnesota. in here, the landscaping business grows with snow.

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welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry, here's some stories making news this morning. the cease-fire in syria may be falling apart as government forces fired tank shells and mortar rounds. this according to video posted by activists. a team of united nations truce monitors are in syria to report on the cease-fire. at the united nations, the security council ordered tighter sanctions on north korea and strongly condemned its failed rocket launch last week. the council warned of new actions if north korea conducts an underground nuclear test. and this is a head-scratcher. a new survey found that 1-5 american adults do not use the internet. kind of hard to believe. for some it's not available. but 1-10 say the internet is not

relevant to them. and the sun erupted yesterday, in a huge solar flare that unleashed an intense amount of super-heated plasma into space. strong solar flares can cause disruptions to satellites and power grids, but fortunately this one was not aimed at the earth. so it's just a pretty picture for you. now here's your "first look" at wall street. the dow opens at 12,921 after gaining 71 points yesterday. the s&p was down a fraction of a point. the nasdaq lost 22. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei was down five points, while in hong kong, the hang seng fell 48. well earnings season is in full swing, but a rare losing streak for the world's most valuable company has investors on edge. including apple's five-day losses add up to 9% of its market value, that's about $60 billion.

analysts cite slipping ipad sales and worriers thies that ce carriers will stop adding iphones. and google fell for a second day as it went to trial with a copyright fight with oracle. news that sales rose in march injected optimism to investors. citigroup reported record revenue from global banking. mattel plunged 10% after reporting a 53% drop in earnings, thanks to weak sales of hot wheels and barbies. sobering news out of spain, where the yield on ten-year government bonds jumped above 6% monday. now 7% is the rate at which other european countries have been forced to seek bailouts. and regulators approved cheniere energy's plan to build a plant for liquified natural gas in louisiana. argentina announced plans to nationalize its biggest oil

company ypf, previously run by spain's repsol. jim young kim is the new leader of the world bank. the dartmouth college president will begin his term in july. and if you have a teenager going to prom, you know where your tax refund is going to go. a new survey found the average pricetag per teen is a whopping $1,078. that's 33% more than last year. what in the world are they spending that much money on? you got me. well the o's win in extra innings, the wizards put a spell on the bulls and the mavs outlast the jazz, and the bruins get a came up on the capitals in their stanley cup playoff series, your "first look" at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. literally across the street from her sister. [ banker ] but someone else bought it before they could get their offer together.

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welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry, in sports the rangers blanked the senators to take a gim one lead in the stanley cup playoffs. here's nbc's fred roggin. >> good morning, a hot goalie can make all the difference in the stanley cup playoffs. you combine it with the best team of the eastern conference and you've got the new york rangers. game three against the senators, scoreless until the third period. rangers get a bounce off the boards and the puck went to brian boyle, rangers up 1-0. hendrick lundquist did the rest, the senators threw everything but the kitchen sink at him and lundquist stopped all 39 shots, a shutout to boot, rangers won

it 1-0 and lead the series two games to one. to washington for a good one between the caps and bruins, third period, brooks scored the equalizer. tying the game 3-3. then chara's blast was tipped by a caps player in front of the net, that's the difference, bruins won it 4-3. baseball, it's early, the orioles are in the first place in the a.l. east down to their final out against the white sox. adam jones with a game-tying bomb. baltimore rallied to win it, 10-4. nba nets gave the heat just about all they could handle. up 13 in the fourth when lebron james took over. scored the final 17 points of the game and finished with 37. new jersey made it interesting, but miami gets the win, 101-98. wizards looked like a playoff team, pull-away in the fourth quarter and stun the bulls in chicago, 87-84. and leave you with a triple o.t.

thriller in utah, jazz down a pair in regulation, forced overtime. the final seconds of the extra period, the mavs needing a three, dirk nowitzki delivered, he had 40, but none bigger than that. it stayed tied through second o.t. and then in devon harris from downtown and the jazz knocked off the defending champs in triple overtime. 123-121. your first look at sports, i'm fred roggin. for another look at the weather, let's check back in with nbc meteorologist bill karins. anyone that lived on the east coast yesterday, it was like how much time can i possibly spend outside. it was basically like summer. >> i was telling people, it's the closest you'll ever experience to living in tucson or phoenix. there was no humidity, very dry, but warm and hot. and you could feel the warm breeze in your face, it was 91 in albany new york and 90 in syracuse, the earliest that either of those two cities have ever hit 90 degrees. hartford was 92, you're one of the hottest spots in the

country. that barely ever happens that hartford gets that honor. as far as d.c. goes, you were 89. a warm morning, we're holding on to some of the warmth. a cold front is coming through, it's cooled off to 46 in buffalo. it will be breezy and cooler. a summer-like feel. high temperatures will be in the mid 70s in most locations. 60s away from the bigger cities, it will be dry just about everywhere. the southeast has some showers, but overall, a quiet nice april day. coming up, alec baldwin ends speculation about his fate on "30 rock." plus details on the stunning ring at the center of hollywood's biggest engagement. your "first look" at entertainment is straight ahead, you're watching "first look." ♪ [ gong ] strawberry banana! [ male announcer ] for a smoothie with real fruit plus veggie nutrition new v8 v-fusion smoothie. could've had a v8.

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well welcome back to "first look." the space shuttle "discovery" will take off on its final journey this morning, to head to the nation's capitol, nbc's chris clackham has the story. >> reporter: riding piggyback on top of a modified jumbo jet, space shuttle "discovery" takes flight for a final time tuesday. nasa's oldest retired shuttle leaves its home at kennedy space center in florida for a permanent display at the smithsonian institution's hangar outside washington, d.c. >> it's like the vehicle is leaving home. going to another place to start another life. and another home, i guess. >> reporter: another life, another home after 28 years at cape canaveral. and on hand for the sendoff, were former astronauts, who flew on discovery. >> we're the last crew to fly this vehicle here, "discovery." >> reporter: to include steve lindsay and five others on board

for its last mission, launched in february of last year. >> she served well 39 missions, 365 days on orbit. and the fact that "discovery" is going to the smithsonian and people will get to see her for hopefully forever is a good thing. >> reporter: after landing there, "discovery" will go on display at the smithsonian's hangar at dulles international airport in virginia. chris clackham, nbc news. time for entertainment news, actor johnny depp is facing legal troubles. tmz reports the "pirates of the caribbean" star is being sued by a disabled woman who claims his bodyguards dragged her from her vip seat in december. "titanic" has sailed beyond the $2 billion mark in lifetime ticket sales, thanks to the film's rerelease in 3-d. it now stands as one of only two films in history to earn more

than $2 billion. the other is another james cameron film, "avatar." >> that little movie? >> after speculation of an early departure from "30 rock." actor alec baldwin confirmed that he is in fact signed on to do the show's seventh season. baldwin is scheduled to be on capitol hill today, to lobby congress to increase arts funding. and finally, it's what you've all been waiting for, take a good luck. a closer look at angelina jolie's engagement ring. brad pitt reportedly helped design the ring. an expert tells "people" magazine it could weigh in at more than ten carats with a price tag of more than $1 million. >> isn't the wedding band supposed to go around that? >> maybe she'll wear it on the other hand. these are difficult problems to have, i'm sure. >> do they have enough money to afford another ring? >> it would be hard to imagine, if they wouldn't.

>> i'll help them out if they need some. >> i'm sure brad will appreciate you pulling the ring out of the cracker jack box. stay tuned, "way too early" with willie geist starts right now. mitt romney tells president obama, it's time to start packing. as new polls show a head-to-head matchup between them deadlocked. the question is, if the race stays this tight over the next six months, can mitt romney close the still-wide margin among women voters to put himself over the top? the united states senate votes down the buffett rule that would require households making more than a million bucks a year to pay at least a 30% federal tax rate. the question is, even with the defeat of the bill, will the pay your fair share argument with an effective one for the president. and bobby valentine lasted about a week and a half of the regular season before starting a public fight with one of his own players and a